Creative Change Coalition

The Creative Change Coalition’s guiding principles:

Equity-Focused: We seek to create more just and equitable communities in the face of dominant systems that marginalize and extract from people on the basis of race, gender, disability, location, class, sexual orientation, religion and other identities.

Place-Based: Member Organizations have a deep impact in their place AND are a critical piece of the local ecosystem that supports thriving communities.

Creativity-Centered: We work with artists (broadly defined), creative workers, and culture bearers in and of communities because they make meaning, weave people together, and envision new paths.

People-Powered: We center the strength of practitioners and the wisdom of community members who shape the circumstances for community resilience and health.

Stronger Together: Individually, Coalition organizations are instrumental to the health of specific communities – and collectively, we can work together to navigate and to recast the systems we need.

What do we mean? Very broadly, we bring the following perspectives:

Place:

Local context and ecosystems are best positioned to know what their communities need and to be able to deliver it in a relevant and accessible way. We value and prioritize locally grown systems and solutions.

Many communities do not currently have robust or sustainable ecosystems of support for artists, creative workers, and culture bearers. We have a responsibility to share the resources we have and support the growth of these local ecosystems.

Artists, creative workers, and culture bearers:

Our definition of artist, creative workers, and culture bearers is broad: from people who weave stories and craft meaning, to those who perform and create art in public places, local artists represent different cultures, experiences, and demographics. They can engage residents, organizations, and businesses in joyful, inclusive, and strategic solutions to local issues and opportunities.

With this broad definition, this means that artists exist in every place and community, and are a powerful resource.

Together, this coalition seeks to:

• increase visibility and expand momentum for “the field” – making place-based, creativity-centered work more visible, understood, supported, and valued
• create solidarity and connection amongst peer organizations working towards shared goals
• consolidate existing information on practices and models to make them more accessible
• address gaps in information and make solutions accessible
• generate research to inform and advocate for local and national system change and policy priorities
• create new and deepen existing connections to other sectors, movements, and thinking to inform and inspire our work

The initial design for the Coalition has been developed with input and feedback from the following field leaders:

Joseph Allen, Gizhiigin Arts Incubator
Mary Bordeaux, Racing Magpie
Sage Crump, National Performance Network
Deborah Cullinan, Stanford University
Jack Forinash, Blue Sky Center
Alexis Frasz, Helicon
Aviva Kapust, The Culture & Community Power Fund
Jeremy Liu, Creative Development Partners
Esther Robinson, ArtBuilt
Michael Rohd, Co-Lab for Civic Imagination / Center for Performance and Civic Practice
Omari Rush, CultureSource
Jamie (Schumacher) Kalakaru-Mava, Local Initiatives Support Corporation- Twin Cities
Jason Schupbach, Drexel University- Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design
Erik Takeshita, The Culture & Community Power Fund
Margy Waller, Art on the Streets

We are also grateful to the organizations that hosted field conversations:

Arts for LA– Los Angeles County, California
Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology– Bellaire, MI
Fresh Arts– Houston, TX
Harvester Arts– Wichita, KS
Office for Public Art– Pittsburgh, PA
Pike School of Art– McComb, MS
Racing Magpie– Rapid City, SD
Sidewalk Detroit– Detroit, MI

The Coalition’s design has also been inspired by other network and movement organizations including the Economic Security Project, Equitable Food Oriented Development Collaborative and the New Economy Coalition.